Request By:
Hon. David H. Ashley
City Attorney
City of Georgetown
Court Street
Georgetown, Kentucky 40324
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; Joe Johnson, Assistant Attorney General
In your letter to this office dated May 19, 1982, you have set forth the following problem:
As attorney for the City of Georgetown, I have been requested by the Chief of Police to request an opinion from your office as to whether or not, under certain circumstances, a peace officer may make an arrest for a violation of KRS 189.580 (leaving the scene of the accident).
The factual circumstances giving rise to this question are those instances which an officer arrives on the scene of the accident almost immediately after it has occurred, and where one of the parties has left the scene. The officer is able to locate the fleeing party a short distance from the scene; the vehicle being driven shows obvious evidence of having been involved in a collision, even to the extent of being virtually inoperable.
Is it then proper under these circumstances for the officer to make an arrest for a violation of KRS 189.580, in spite of the fact the offense was not actually committed in his presence as required by KRS 431.005.
In our opinion, when a peace officer spots a vehicle a short distance from the scene of an accident which he suspects as having been involved, he is justified in making an arrest for leaving the scene. The reason is that the driver is guilty of a continuing violation of KRS 189.580 and is still involved in leaving the scene at the time of the arrest. Therefore, this misdemeanor is in fact being committed in the officer's presence at the time of the arrest. It is not required that the officer witness the vehicle leave the accident scene itself in order for the officer to make an arrest.